The Four Cardinal Points

+Johannes van Alphen

This article is based on a lecture given by Prof J.E. van der Stok printed in St Michael's News of 25 September 1956.

During the Earth's annual orbit around the Sun, four cardinal points are reached when we have a special opportunity to face certain Divine Glories, and at the same time be aware of a deep sense of Divine Responsibility. Too often today, people demand justice based on 'Human Rights' without mentioning our 'Human Responsibilities' and the responsibility we have for all Life on the Planet: 'Animal Rights', 'Vegetation Rights', 'Environmental Rights', and dozens more where exploitation of resources leads to a reduction of 'Quality of Life' for all life on the planet.

THE TWO SOLSTICES
Solstice, from Latin Solstitium, means "the Sun is made to stand still". It occurs when either the night or the day is longest, which happens around 22^nd December and 22^nd June respectively in the northern hemisphere. During the period around a solstice, we are able to glimpse the glories of the Divine Light. However, at the same time, there is also a vast amount of Darkness resulting from the sins (the word literally means 'separation') of the past against the Divine Light. During the solstice time is figuratively standing still and we being in this Divine Light, may experience a diminishing of the apparent separateness that isolates "You" from "Me". This is typical of Christmas, for we are called upon to forget about separateness and to share: Share in happiness, joy, but at the same time, share in compassion with those less endowed. Truly sharing means sharing in the 'collective karma' of the world, and we have to experience it consciously, accepting responsibility for the sins of the past. Hence, the acceptance of this sharing in the collective karma results in the making of resolutions on New Year's Day.

In Christianity, the two solstices coincide with important feasts: The December solstice coincides with the feasts of St. John the Divine and the Nativity of the Lord. The June solstice coincides with the feast of St Alban on 22 June and St John the Baptist on the 24^th, both very significant feast days in the Liberal Catholic Church calendar.

THE MARCH EQUINOXES
Equinox means that the day and night are of equal length, and these occur on 20 March and 22 September. During the March Equinox we may have a vision of the Divine Mystery, of the ineffable glory, but at the same time we have to bear the Burden of Desecration of the body, of the temple that is the house of the Lord. Easter occurs, of course, close to the March equinox, and we may view the Crucifixion as symbolical of the Desecration of the human body, and the Resurrection as the Divine Mystery of Restoration. We all continuously carry this burden of desecration. No profession for material gain exists that does not, in one way or another, tend to make us obedient to their vision of right and wrong. Thereby we are robbed of the means of becoming self-determining adults. This is the type of desecration that is continuously thrust upon us, whether by the government, and the legislative, economic and health care policies of the state, or by what is regarded as public opinion, mostly ruled by vested interests.

To be a self-determining adult can lead to strong disapproval by the masses, and can at times even be dangerous. For example, a group of Liberal Catholic women in Midwestern United States quietly give birth to their babies at home. It is forbidden in their State, but these mothers and fathers do not want the State to have their babies inoculated against anything, which the State declares necessary to the public health. The public outcry over Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the UK, who refuses to declare whether his baby has received a certain injection, is another typical example. Dr Carl Jung once made the statement that it is of little importance what people think is right or wrong, but what to them is sense or nonsense. To the women in the Midwest, mentioned above, it is good sense to deliver their babies at home; the State declares this to be utter nonsense. So who is right?

THE SEPTEMBER EQUINOX
When we come to the September Equinox we stand for a moment before Divine Freedom in an ultimate sense. At the same time, we have to face the consequences of the Abuse of Freedom. We have to become conscious of the unique powers given to the human. Divine Freedom is the limitless power of kingly uniqueness, for it is the King who experiences ultimate freedom. In order to acquire this freedom, we may have to face ultimate bondage, even death. On 29 September it is customary to celebrate the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, and at the International Church Center in Naarden, the Netherlands, this feast occurs during what is called "Kings Week".

We may symbolize the kingly power as a steel lance with a sharp point, which becomes increasingly sharp as we become aware of Divine Freedom. We need to arrive at such a keen point that the whole steel body necessarily exhausts itself into that point. The power at that point becomes a spray of creative fire. This kingly uniqueness is spontaneous.

We must not forget, however, that the powers of black magic are equally in possession of this freedom, even though their intentions are evil. The terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City on 11 September 2001 - close to the September Equinox- made use of airplanes, which, if seen in relative sizes are like darts of steel thrust into the heart of the towers, spraying destructive fire from their points.

THE PATH FORWARD
Let us now try to come to a deeper understanding of the ultimate glory experienced during the two solstices (December and June). In order to understand these outpourings of Divine Glory, we should picture humanity in our mind as part of a mighty river, broad and deep. As the water sprays in every direction, so are we tossed around - sometimes on top, sometimes overwhelmed by other currents that sweep us under the surface.

This mighty stream receives its water from upstream. It is mighty and powerful because it is pulled along by the gravity of the collective karma of the world. During the solstices, the world is, in a manner of speaking, in a state of standing still. No longer is it a matter of "You" or "Me", but of our standing together and sharing the collective karma. Hence, the intent of the Christmas season and of the June solstice is one of peace, goodwill and sharing.

This river receives its water from upstream, representing our past, where the collective karma is generated. The water will ultimately empty itself into the Ocean of Life Eternal, our future. As long as we are part of this mighty river, without understanding how we must take control of our lives, we will be part of the strife and friction of a world of competition. Without taking responsibility, we will remain part of the whirlpools of life.

What can we do about this? There are five steps that, one for one, require an inner resolve to serve the holiness and uniqueness of Life and to direct our paths in a purposeful direction away from darkness towards the light.

This is also experienced in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Once we become sensitized, we recognize these five steps as we move through the rituals of the Eucharist.

The first phase — Perform your duty, your Dharma. We need to do this with our whole heart. The five attributes of right Dharma are cheerfulness, reverence, friendliness, helpfulness and deep sympathy. What happens then? We bring righteousness into the stream and we spread a soothing and appeasing influence of peace around us. Many of us experience this effect in some measure when we willingly perform our duty, our Dharma. Because we are doing our duty, we contact the deeper layers of the stream and bring about transparency. Are we not again speaking in a symbolic sense about our own inner being? As we bring peace into our consciousness, we make contact with the deeper layers of the subconscious and even the unconscious. As the currents become quieter, the water turns transparent. The field of peace then spreads around us, although not yet upstream. We are not yet dealing with the karma of the past, but preparing for a better future as we move downstream.

In the Holy Eucharist this is experienced when the celebrant takes the Host in his hand and offers it as a symbol of our minds. It is in our minds that we take it upon ourselves to perform our Dharma.

The second phase — The deepening power of Compassion. Compassion is a deepening power. The water is caused to enter the deep and will find rest and transparency there. The disturbed surface is less important because of the deepening of our field — is this not again a beautiful analogy of reaching for the subconscious and the unconscious by which we can better handle the turbulence of everyday life? The effect of compassion is the smoothing of the turbulent surface of the stream, a lessening of the surface tension. This effect also moves upstream, smoothing the collective karma of the past and so works for a better present.

When the celebrant pours the wine and the water into the chalice —the wine being pure unfermented grape juice, called tirosh in Hebrew— we experience this deepening effect of compassion. The chalice may be seen as a symbol of the womb. It is in the womb that life is created in the water and the blood.

The third phase — To give up Life for the sake of others. As the Gospel has it, we have to lose our life in order to find it in Life eternal. What happens then? Something quite different: We bring into the river the atmosphere of Life Eternal, the goal of all streams of existence. We are not only conscious of the mighty stream of the karmic past, which is upstream, but also of the future of the Ocean of Life into which the river will flow. Past and future come together, resulting in fulfillment. The river is still there, and we are part of the stream, but the flow now becomes even, permeated with the peace and the deep of the Ocean of Life. So the third phase is accomplished, closely linked to the March Equinox, when day and night are of equal length.

This third phase is experienced during the consecration of the Bread and Wine as symbols of Life Eternal. We are now experiencing the deep mystery of Easter, the Mysterium Magnum and Tremendum. The Lord in His suffering takes upon Himself the Karma of the world. He pours his Life into us that we may live. During this most sacred moment, past and future merge. We become aware of a glorious past as well as of the glory of the future.

The fourth phase — We return to the bedrock of the river, which is the bedrock of the Ocean. We must return to the bedrock of the river, to the bedrock of the Ocean of Life, for Life Eternal abides in form, often referred to as "the Higher Self", which to us is largely unconscious. Yet it is in the unconscious that we may experience Life Divine. There we find the gems on the bedrock of the Ocean of Life. Joshua found the gems, the twelve stones, when he crossed the water of the river Jordan that had been divided by the High Priest so that the bedrock became dry - beautiful symbolism indeed. The river Jordan was in spate and the water was seething and full of turbulence. When the High Priest touched the water, the stream became even and transparent, and Joshua could figuratively walk across over the bedrock of the river.

In our unconscious, we now face infinitude, and we must assume an even fuller sacrificial stature, to give up even Life Eternal. The sacrificial attitude becomes the intense urge to give more fundamental, more substantial help. Now we face the Mysterium for a moment. For a moment, we are "lost" in it. In this moment the monadic Light appears, the promise of the ultimate crystalline uniqueness. We enter into the monadic rhythm, as on the festival of the Ascension.

In the Eucharist, this sacrificial attitude is symbolized in the elevation of the Chalice and the Host together. Initially, the Chalice is standing and the consecrated Host is lying on the bedrock, the altar stone. The priest takes the Host in his hand, thrice makes a cross with it over the Chalice, and then holds the Chalice high, holding the Host over the Chalice. It is the Mysterium of Ascension, the Mysterium we see face to face for a moment during this elevation. Then the Chalice is placed back on the bedrock, the Host is broken up and a fragment dropped into the Chalice, unifying the three elements -bread, wine and water- into One Substance.

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